Cannot open/edit old files since ending subscription

[BECreativeSC]

I am absolutely furious with Adobe support for misleading me. I have recently retired after using Adobe products and paying for them outright and then through subscription for decades (back to Pagemaker in 1989). When I chatted with TWO support people about my subscription and needing to cancel it (INDD, PS, AI, ACROBAT), they both assured me.... and I asked multiple times.... that I would still be able to open and work with my old files if the companies that I sold my company to at retirement needed my help with anything.

Here I am today, trying to open a file using INDD that still resides on my hard drive, and every time I try to open it, I get the window saying I need to pay for a plan. When I close that window, the file window that I just tried to open, closes down. I sold my design firm to two other firms based on location (northern US clients went to one company, southern clients to another) with the understanding that I could troubleshoot any issues they might have with files.

Now, despite those two support people telling me I absolutely would still be able to do this.... I cannot. I also tried to open files in Photoshop and Illustrator with similar results. I can open them, but I cannot do anything with them; I can't save, save as, export... NOTHING.

I always hated the subscription model, but Adobe gave us no other option. 

I want Adobe to stand by what their support people told me I could continue to do with software that still existed on my drive.

[BECreativeSC]

When I looked up this question online, this is one of the answers I found. Exactly what the support people told me. I would still be able to use my software that was resident on my computer. And yet I cannot use any of it. They all shut down after showing me the message about pricing and plans.

[BobLevine]

AFAICR, when a new version is released you can get a new trial. Beyond that I have no idea why anyone would tell you that you could use the software. If that were the case everyone would cance.

That said, your files are still safe, as long as you stored them somewhere accessible and if you need to open them you can subscribe for a month and be done with it.

[Luke Jennings3]

Congratulations on your retirement!

If you are going to continue do work for the companies that purchased your business, perhaps they can provide you with a seat?

I suggest saving or exporting all of your files to pdf, at least you can always view them with the free Acrobat Reader.

[BECreativeSC]

Almost everything I have done in the past was exported as a pdf because I designed print marketing, and it all went to printers for the final pieces. So I do have those in addition to my native files. I guess I'll just have to get more accustomed to the fact that I'm truly retired and shouldn't feel such a great need to open anything. The only thing that would have been nice is to have the use of InDesign because I still do a lot of volunteer design work for my church.... guess Canva's in my future.

[tonks_the_auror]

I still have InDesign CS6 installed on my Windows box so I can access IDML files if/when I no longer have a Creative Cloud subscription. Affinity Publisher also opens IDML files. When I finish a project, I package it for archiving, and I include a high-res PDF and an IDML.

My suggestion is to subscribe for a month and save your InDesign files as IDML files. You can open those with older versions of InDesign, or you can try Affinity Publisher. Currently it's a perpetual license, not subscription, and is fairly inexpensive. It's not InDesign, but it's not bad.

Good luck, and enjoy your retirement!